Charles kaiser



CHARLES KAISERQOF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FOR GRINDiNG NEEDLE-POINTS.

speciacation of Letters Patent No. '33,042, 'aa-tea August i3, i861.

- resents an end elevation of the same; Fig. 3

represents a rear elevation of the saine; Fig. i represents a vertical longitudinal section of the saine at 'thelinem of Fig. l; and Fig. 5 represents a longitudinal section of a :needle holder of the full size and detached from the machine.

The object of` my invention is to grind the points of needles, and particularly -those which are manufactured for use in sewing machines. i 1

The best form for the point of a needle is a. spindle generated by the revolution of a convex curve around an axis, and the nia `chine devised by me is capable of producing suoli points with `great rapidity and with vbut asmall amount of -h'and labor.

My invention is divided into severalparts, the Afirst of which consists in a combination l of the following members; viz., a rotary -grind stone Aor its equivalent, a needle holder `having a rotary movement, and a needle `holder carriage having an oscillatory movement, Ythe combination asa whole operating `in such manner that the needle is caused to turn onits axes in contact with the moving i face of thegrind stone and at t-hesame time to oscillate, whereby `the production of a convex :point is insured.`

The Yobject of the second part of `my invention is `to'insure the equable wear of the grind stone, and it consists 'in the combination `of 'the first part of 4my invention with mechanism that imparts :a vibratory `move- `ment to the gri-nd stoiiecrosswise to its movement for grinding, so that the portion of the stone which is acting upon `the `needle point is continually changed.

The object of the ythird part of :my inivention' is "to facilitate 4the Yapplication of the needle blanks to the machine, and `their renioval therefrom, `and it-consists in zcomb'in- 1 ing the part of the ineedle carriage in which vneedle holder with suflicient rigidity to cause it to move therewith, and at the same Vtime to render its applicationthereto `and its removal therefrom easy and rapid. This `part of my invention consists in the combination of a tubular `needle holder with an elastic clamp, the two being combined together suby stantially asherein after described..

Although one or more parts `of myinvention may be used without the others, I have found that the best results are obtained by combining all parts thereof in the same machine, and the machine represented in the accompanying drawings embodies them all.-

In this machine the ,grind stone, A, is cylindrical, Tand is mounted upon a shaft B, whose journals turn in boxes in the side plates, C C, of the frame of the machine. As the machine embodies the second f art of my invention, the ournals of thegrinc stone shaft are longer than the boXes in which they revolve, fso that the grindstone may be moved to and fro endwise at the same time that it is caused to revolve for grinding. The rotary movement of'the grind stone is obtained byV applying a belt to a pulley D secured to the .grind stone shaft; its endwise movement is obtained vin this machine by means of `a skewed disk E, which is mounted upon a countershaft F that is caused to revolve by means of a belt a a. This belt encircles two pulleys, one of which, Gr, is secured to tliegrind stone shaft B,

. while the other, G", is secured to the counter shaft F. The rim of the skewed1 disk E enters between the :prongs of a fork H, which is `pivoted ina socket in a box I, 4that is mounted upon the grind stone shaft B; the pivoting of the Afork '(H) in its socket permitting it to turn, so that its Ajaws accommodate themselves to the varying inclination of -the rim of the skewed disk as it turns through them,l The boX I, that carries the fork, is prevented from turning with "the grind stone shaft byV means of a `guide J, -on which its lowerside slides; it is prevented iio from sliding endwise upon the lgrind stone shaft by means of collars, so that the..grind y stone shaft and grindstone are caused to4 move to and fro with the box as the latter is moved to and fro by the revolution of the skewed disk.

The carriage, by which the needle holders are sustained, consists of two main divisions, one of which is pivoted to the other. The lower of these parts consists of a rectangular frame K, whose two side bars, L and L, are pivoted at their front extremities to the side plates of the frame of the machine, so that the whole carriage can oscillate upon these pivots as centers. The oscillation is effected by means of an eccentric wheel d, which is secured to and revolves with the countershaft F. The rim of this eccentric wheel acts upon a friction wheel 7, pivoted to the carriage; so that as the more and less protuberant parts of the eccentric wheel act in rotation on the friction wheel of the carriage, the hinder end of the carriage is raised and lowered. The other, or upper main division of the carriage, consists also of a rectangular frame L, whose side bars g g are pivoted at their hinder ends to the side bars of the lower division of the carriage. This upper division sustains the needle holder M, any desirable number of which forming a gang may be used. These needle holders are constructed to revolve in bearings in the two crossbars, 7L L, of the carriage, and they are parallel to each other. The central needle holder of the gang is fitted with a cog wheel Z, whose teeth are in a proper position to engage with those of a driving wheel m, that is mounted upon a shaft s which turns in boxes secured to the lower division of the needle carriage. This shaft is fitted with a pulley N, which is connected by a belt with a pulley secured to the counter shaft F, so that as the latter revolves, the driving wheel m and the needle holder driven thereby are caused to revolve also. The belt passes over a .pair of directing pulleys, n n, in order to change its line of direction; and as the hinder end of the needle holder carriage at which the driving shaft s, is located moves up and down, I find it expedient to construct the directing pulleys (u a) in such manner that they will slip up and down on their axle p, so as to accommodate themselves to the varying position of the needle holder carriage during its oscillations on its front pivots.

rlhe needle holders which are to the right and left of the central one, are each fitted with a cog wheel Z, and the teeth of the adjacent cog` wheels gear into each other, so that when the central needle holder revolves all the others revolve simultaneously. Each needle holder is tubular and has a stem t,

with a socket in its front extremity to receive and hold the elastic clamp, which in this instance consists of a tubular piece of india rubber e. The socket extremity of the stem is covered by a tubular thimble or nozzle w, having a hole at its center of a suitable size to receive the stem of the needle. The front end of this nozzle is conical, so that it can extend to within a short distance of the point of the needle to be ground without interfering with the application of the point to the grindstone. The upper member of the needle carriage is fitted with a handle ai, by which it can be readily turned upright on the pivots 2' as axes, so as to present the needle holders` in an upright osition; and in order to hold the needle ho ders in that position, the heel of o-ne of the side bars of the upper members of the needle carriage is notched', as shown in dotted lines at F ig. 2, and a spring e is provided to engage in that notch when the needle holders are turned up.

In operating with the machine thus described, the upper frame of the needle carriage isvVt-urned up on its pivots to present the needle holders in an upright position, a needle blank is then forced endwise and butt foremost into each needle holder by means of a pair of pliers. The upper frame of the needle carriage is then turned down as represented in the drawings so as to cause the points of the needle blanks to bear upon the grind stone, and the latter is caused to revolve rapidly by means of its belt which is then thrown into gear. As the grindstone revolves, the needle holders also revolving turn the needle blanks on their axes so as to grind the points upon all sides, and at the same time the oscillation of the needle carriage causes the needle blanks to oscillate upon the stone, thus insuring the grinding of convex points. While the grindstone revolves, it is also moved endwise by the operation of the skewed disk, so that the grinding surface is moved crosswise to its movement for grinding, and the grinding surface that rotates against the needle point is continually changed. The operator who tends the machine can press the needle points in contact with the grinding surface with any desirable force by bearing his hand upon the front cross bar L of the needle holder carriage; he can also readily raise the needle points from the grindstone by means of the handle x as soon as he perceives that the points are ground sharp. It is obvious that a reciprocating grindstone could be used in place of a rotating one, the mechanism being suitably itted thereto; but I prefer to use a rotating grindstone and to drive it at a speed of about 1400 revolutions per minute, the needle holders revolving about 230 revolutions per minute.. The number of needle holders used in one machine depends upon the skill of the attendant; I have found by practice that an observant and skilful operator can manage seven with facility; and if any one needle in the gang grinds faster than the others, that one may be withdrawn from its holder by raising the gang for a llO moment from the grindstone, and then the remainder may be again depressed upon the stone. Water is permitted to trickle on the grindstone during the grinding; and a set screw o is employed to limit the distance to which the front ends of the needle holders can be depressed.

Having thus described a machine embodying) all parts of my invention, what l claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. A machine for grinding needles consisting substantially of a combination of a grindstone, a revolving needle holder, and an oscillating needle holder carriage, the combination as a Whole operating substantially as described.

2. The combination of the first part of my scribed my name.

CHARLES KAISER. lVitnesses R. lV. MGCLELLAN, W. L. BENNERN. 

